И.В. Граборская Your personality

1

Методическая разработка “Ваш характер” (Your Personality) предназначена для студентов I курса всех специальностей ФГО и ИЭФ.

Рекомендуется для использования на начальном этапе работы в первом семестре в качестве основного или элективного курса. Методическая разработка рассчитана на 24 часа практических занятий и 20 часов самостоятельной работы.

Материал методической разработки максимально приближен к жизненным ситуациям и представлен в виде формул-клише, текстов, упражнений и анкет, охватывающих широкий диапазон лексики.

Цель данной разработки – развитие различных видов речевой деятельности с учетом коммуникативной направленности обучения, что способствует активизации мыслительной деятельности, развитию инициативы и творческой самостоятельности обучаемых, а также навыков анализа материала.

Методическая разработка состоит из четырех логически завершенных частей (Vocabulary, People are Different, People and Jobs, You and Your Star Sign), что позволяет преподавателю выбрать задания в соответствии с уровнем подготовленности и желанием обучаемых.

Материал методической разработки был апробирован на практических занятиях в группах ФГО и ИЭФ на специальностях СТ, МУ, ЭК, Э, ФК, ЭС и ПИ с 2000 г. по 2003 г. Результаты апробации показали, что предложенная тематика является действительно актуальной и интересной как для студентов, так и для преподавателей, а также способствует установлению хорошего психологического контакта в группе.

Авторы надеются, что работа с предложенным материалом будет полезна и увлекательна. Желаем успехов!

2

Nowadays people are assessed not only by their professional, but surely by their personal qualities.

In his book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Coleman argues that brain power as measured by IQ actually matters less than qualities of mind like understanding one’s own feelings, empathy – being sensitive to other people’s feelings – and the ability to manage your own emotions. EQ is not the opposite of IQ. What researches are trying to understand is how they complement each other. Among the ingredients for success, researches now generally agree that IQ counts for about twenty per cent: the rest depends on everything from luck, to social class … and emotional intelligence. In the business world, according to personnel executives, IQ gets you a job, but EQ gets you promotion.

Here is some interesting and useful material which will help you not only understand your character, but get on well with other people in everyday life and in your professional sphere.

PART I. VOCABULARY

There is a great variety of different adjectives in English which people use to describe one’s personality. They can be divided into several parts (depending on a person’s perception of surrounding world and their functions).

Opposites.

Many positive words describing character have clear opposites with a negative meaning.

3

*Jane is very tense at the moment because of her exams, but she’s usually quite relaxed and easy-going about most things.

*I think the weather influences me a lot: when it’s sunny I feel more cheerful and optimistic; but when it’s cold and raining I get very miserable.

*He seemed a bit unfriendly at first, but now I’ve got to know him and I realize he’s very warm and kind.

*The shop assistant told me that the dress I tried on looked better on people younger than me. I thought that was very insensitive on her, but at least she was honest, I suppose.

Character in action

People often talk about qualities of character that you may need in a work situation. Again, some of these words come in pairs of opposites: one positive and one negative.

Some pairs of opposites do not have a particularly positive or negative meaning.

•He is very shy when you first meet him because he finds it difficult to talk to people and make conversation; but when he knows people quite well he’s much more self-confident.

•People often say the British are very reserved (=do not show their feelings), but when you get to know them they can be very emotional like anyone else.

4

Using nouns

Some important qualities are expressed through nouns.

•One of her great qualities is that she uses her initiative (=she can think for herself and take the necessary action; she doesn’t need to wait for orders all the time).

•That boy has got no common sense (= he does stupid things and doesn’t think what he is doing). His sister, on the other hand, is very sensible (=has lots of common sense).

Intellectual ability

Ability: intelligent, bright, clever, smart, shrewd, able, gifted, talented, brainy (colloquial).

Lacking ability: stupid, foolish, half-witted, simple, silly, brainless.

NB!

Clever (negative way = using brains to trick or deceive): cunning, crafty, and sly.

Attitudes towards life

•Optimistic – pessimistic: looking on either the bright or the black side of things

•Extroverted –introverted: outward-looking or inward-looking (i.e. to the word around one or to one’s own inner world)

•Relaxed – tense: calm or not calm with regard to attitude to life

•Sensible – down-to-earth: practical, not dreamy in approach to life

•Sensitive: feeling things very intensely

Attitudes towards other people

•Sociable – gregarious: enjoying others’ company

•Quarrelsome – argumentative: disagreeing with others

•Cruel – sadistic: taking pleasure in others’ pain

•Easy-going – even-tempered: relaxed in attitude to self and others

•Impolite – rude – ill-mannered – discourteous: not polite to others

•Honest – trustworthy – reliable – sincere: telling the truth to others

•Jealous – envious: unhappy if others have what one doesn’t have oneself

5

One person’s meat is another person’s poison

Some characteristics can be either positive or negative. It depends on your point of view. The words in the right-hand column mean the same as the words in the left-hand column but they have rather negative meaning.

1. Organize these words into pairs of opposites.

a)He never bought me a drink all the time we were together.

b)I have to tell her what to do every minute of the working day. She wouldn’t even open a window without someone’s permission.

c)He often promises to do things but half the time he forgets.

d)She’s always here on time.

e)I don’t think he’s done any work since he’s been here.

f)She finds it difficult to meet people and talk to strangers.

6

g)He could work in any of the departments, and it doesn’t matter to him if he’s on his own or part of a team.

h)One of the great things about her is that she is so aware of what other people think or feel.

i)Bob, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He is always making people angry or upset because he doesn’t consider their feelings.

j)The other thing about Bob is that he really wants to get the supervisor’s job and then become boss for the whole departments.

4. What nouns can be formed from these adjectives? Consult the dictionary if necessary.

5. Match these words with their opposites.

6. Do you think the speaker likes or dislikes the people he is talking

7. Reword the sentences above to give the opposite expression.

7

PART II. PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT

In this part use all the adjectives you’ve learnt and some new ones to speak about your character and the characters of other people.

Read the following ideas about people’s features of character.

IRENE. Well, actually it’s very difficult to speak about yourself, but still I’ll try. I think that I’m home-loving, kind and patient. I can get on with people well, because I always try to help them and they trust me. But sometimes I am lazy – I don’t want to do anything. And I guess Steve doesn’t like it very much.

STEVE. I am practical I think, because I always try to do the work that will help me in future. I am also honest and I don’t like those people who lie to me, because I always notice it and tell them about it. That’s why they say that I am tactless. I won’t argue, perhaps I am. What I don’t like about myself is that I’m sometimes bossy and Irene knows it very much. I’m sorry. JANE. Me? Ha! My mother says that I am light-minded, because I do everything without thinking. I like to take risks, because I am really risky. The feature of my character that I hate is that I’m undisciplined and my mother is always angry with me about it. But I’m really hard-working. I try to do everything when I am asked, but sometimes I just forget about it.

MARK. I am very active, although my parents say that I am lazy, because I don’t like to do things they want me to do. I think that I am leading, because I want other people to follow me. They sometimes get offended with me and say that I’m rude. But I don’t think that I’m really bad. I’m just very honest and I tell people what I think of them. It’s natural, I believe. And if they don’t agree with me, it’s their problem.

NATALY. I have a lot of friends. But I can say that most of all I enjoy my own company. My brother believes that I’m rather self-centered and live only for myself. Do you think it’s bad? I think that selfishness is not so bad, because all people are selfish. The most important thing is being hardworking, thorough and ambitious. That’s why my friends say that I’m very reasonable and trustworthy.

ANDREW. You might think that I boast, but I’d say that I’m really clever. I study a lot because I like it and I try to work hard to get good results. That’s why I think that I’m determined. I am rather critical I’d say, because I like when everything is perfect. Do you still think that I am boast?

8

KATE. I am very conservative, they say, and I completely agree with them. I never change anything in my life: ideas, principles, and friends. And the proverb “Old friends and old wines are the best” is my motto. I never go out, because I like to stay at home with my relatives. People say that I’m shy. Is that bad?

EXERCISES

1.Do you think that one of the characters could become your real friend? Tell us who this person is and explain why. The model might help you.

I think that…could become my true friend, because she/he is… I like those people who…

What’s more…

I’d also like to add that…

2.What sort of person are you? Describe yourself. Which of your qualities do your friends value?

3.Read some descriptions. Who do you think the people are describing? A relative? Someone they know professionally?

a)She’s absolutely adorable. I think she’s very pretty, she makes me laugh a lot, um … she tells terrible jokes but I like the way she tells them. She’s a bit naughty sometimes and I curse her when she gets me up at six o’clock in the morning, but when I hear her singing in the morning, well, all is forgiven. She can twist me round her little finger, of course.

b)He was very boring and predictable. The kind of person who remembered birthdays and anniversaries, but who made you angry because there was absolutely nothing spontaneous about him. His ideas of fun were so unadventurous. Well, the first few years were OK, but after that I’d just had enough. Reliable, stable, dependable, and boring.

c)Well, he’s quite well-dressed and punctual. Sometimes he’s cheerful and tells us jokes, but other times we have to do a lot of work. We don’t really know him very well. Oh, I know he’s married, but I’ve never met him socially or anything like that. He seems very professional.

9

d)I’ve never actually spoken to him. Mmm …, I see him every day, of course, as he leaves his car and gets in the lift to his office on the top floor. He’s always terribly well-dressed, and he must wear expensive after-shave because you can smell it ten minutes after he’s gone.

4.There is a good proverb about the person’s character. Do the puzzle and find it out. Say what do you think about it.

A person who…

1.doesn’t want to do anything.

2.tells a lot to everybody how good he is.

3.often offends other people.

4.studies a lot and really enjoys it.

5.knows a lot.

6.does everything without thinking of it.

7.is very energetic.

8.likes to get into dangerous situations.

9.doesn’t want to change anything.

10.says not very polite things to others.

11.is afraid of everything.

12.takes care of everybody.

13.always does what he is asked to do.

14.says very pleasant things to everybody.

15.likes to stay at home and doesn’t have a lot of friends.

16.everybody can rely on.

17.is always cheerful.

18.doesn’t behave properly.

19.enjoys his own company.

20.lives only for himself.

21.has a lot of friends.

22.likes when everything is perfect.

23.is ready to wait and listen to everybody.

5.You’ve already met with some compound adjectives (which consist of two or more words). Here are some more examples of such adjectives. Look them through and try to match them with their definitions.